I used to tell my patients to watch their alcohol intake. Then a patient told me, laughing, “Yeah, I watch my alcohol intake. I watch it being poured into my glass, I watch it as I lift the glass to my mouth and drink it.” Now I say limit your alcohol intake. In modest quantities alcohol is good for you. There is a huge amount of research, some of it conducted by various governments (including the United States), showing that up to 1¹/₂ ounces of pure alcohol per day (that is about two drinks) significantly lowers your bad cholesterol levels, and spread out over a few hours, not taken on an empty stomach, and not prior to driving, lengthens your life expectancy by several years. On the other hand, alcohol contains plenty of calories, so use it sensibly.

Be realistic—Most of us, including me, are not going to follow any plan perfectly. The more strict you are with yourself, the more likely you’ll be to abandon the plan altogether. As I’ve said before, just making the effort can do wonders for your body and your overall health.

These diet pills, which are actually brain stimulants, are so popular that variations of them are sold in supermarkets under brand names such as Dexatrim. One common amphetamine-like drug, a central nervous stimulant called benzedrine, was first used as a nasal inhalant to ease breathing. It was discontinued, however, when it was found that people were taking it out of the inhalant and using it for the wrong reasons.

Benzedrine, dexedrine, and other amphetamines, commonly known as speed, work by cutting the appetite. But when you stop taking them your appetite returns, often with a vengeance, resulting in a greater weight gain than the original loss. Amphetamines also have potentially serious side effects, including heart palpitations, elevated blood pressure, sleep disturbances, trembling, nervousness, anxiety, agitation, and panic attacks. They may even precipitate heart attacks.

And the risks are not confined to prescription-only drugs. Many over-the-counter weight-loss pills at your pharmacy contain a substance called phenylpropanolamine as their main ingredient. Over the years, I have seen numerous patients develop high blood pressure and heart arrhythmias after exposure to this
substance.

Taking these drugs (prescription or over-the-counter) is of no value for long-term, healthful weight loss, and may also lead to dependency. Kitty Dukakis, wife of 1988 presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, created quite a stir when she admitted to having been hooked on amphetamines for over 20 years. I have even seen children stoned and ill from weight-loss pills (which they take for the high). Do yourself a favor and don’t get started on any of them.

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This diet qualifies for entry into the Single Food Diet Sweepstakes, and states right up front that you should only stay on it for 7 days with the goal of experiencing the gratification of quick weight loss. Then the author suggests that you go off the diet for 2 weeks before trying it for another 7 days. Why the on-off approach? Because, in the author’s own words, “The New Cabbage Soup Diet is not appropriate for long-term use. It is not intended as a substitute for good long-term eating habits. The diet may be used for up to a week, but after a week the reader should switch to a normal nutritionally balanced diet [italics mine]

. . . The reader should not use the New Cabbage Soup Diet too frequently even with 2-week or longer intervals in between uses.” When the diet’s own author admits this right up front, you know that there are serious problems with the diet. If nothing else, it’s meant to be a quick fix that teaches you nothing about proper lifelong eating habits. So even though cabbage is one of my favorite foods (I eat a bowlful a week), I suggest you avoid this diet.

Cabbage soup diets have appeared under various names, including the Fat Burning Soup Diet, the New Mayo Clinic Diet, and the Scared Heart Hospital Diet. Just to set the record straight, there’s nothing especially fat-burning about eating cabbage soup, and this diet is not associated with the Mayo Clinic or any of the many hospitals that go by the name of Sacred Heart.

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Most diets end in failure. We’ve all known people who have undergone dramatic weight losses only to pile the pounds back on, often with interest! Most of us have tried following stringent diets and then gone off them (with a vengeance!) because they were too difficult, too boring, or simply didn’t work within our lifestyles. Obviously, with Chitosan, things will be different. That difference plays itself out by allowing people following my Fat Blocker Program to avoid the standard pitfalls of dieting.

What are they?

To answer that question, I’ve made a list of the 11 most common dieting pitfalls and I have shown you how Chitosan, together with my Fat Blocker Program, can help you avoid or minimize them.

Exercising too little-Exercise is essential to weight loss, weight maintenance, and general good health. The Fat Blocker Program includes an excellent plan that makes it easy to start getting in shape: Take small steps! You’ll find yourself increasing your exercise almost

automatically. Eventually, chances are you’ll reach or get close to ideal exercise levels—and then you’ll stay there.

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Walking is one of the easiest and most convenient of all forms of exercise. It requires no equipment other than a good pair of walking shoes and some comfortable clothing, and it can be done almost anywhere. It doesn’t even demand good weather. In many areas of the country where snow and low temperatures are common, mall walking has become a great sport. And for years walkers have been eating up miles and miles worth of pavement in the comfort of their own homes by using treadmills. So for many people, especially former no exercisers, walking is the sport of choice.

One of the best things about walking is that you can incorporate it into your daily routine pretty seamlessly. For example, you could walk instead of driving to work. You could take the dog out for a walk, which it would love, instead of sending it outside by itself. A friend of mine had his golden retriever trained to go for a run every evening when he returned from work. If he got home and didn’t want to go jogging, the dog would drive him nuts until he did. “We used to run 3 miles every evening,” my friend told me. “I would run 1 mile and the dog would run 2!”

Walking, at any pace, is better than sitting, but in order to get cardiovascular benefits you must do more than just stroll. Walking briskly can be just as effective as running or bicycling the same distance—it just takes longer. For starters, take yourself out for a walk around your neighborhood. Before you go, do 5 minutes worth of jumping jacks or pushups to warm up, or walk at a slow pace for the first few minutes. Then begin walking briskly. Make sure you keep up a good pace (see the talk-sing test above) and walk for as long as you care to. Try to do a little more each day. And try to find interesting places to walk. (Many cities have walking guides or books that will suggest good walks.) After a while, you’ll forget about how long you’ve been walking, lost in the interest or beauty of your surroundings. Soon, 30 minutes will seem wholly insufficient.

As you come to the end of your walk, slow down to a strolling pace for 5 more minutes, finally finishing your workout with some stretches. Do this walking routine at least 4 times a week for the next few weeks. Once you find that it’s easy for you to keep going for a half hour or more and you’re feeling fine, move up to the next level, wogging.

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